Rebuilding the Darkness
by Parker Schadegg
Summary: A Knights of the Old Republic continuation fic. The Sith armada is smashed, the threat of galactic conquest has dwindled, it should be a time of great celebration, but something evil stirs in the distant stars, threatening to rip the universe apart.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The characters of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic are owned by LucasArts & BioWare. No copyright infringement is intended or should be perceived.  
  
Spoiler Warning: This work of fiction contains possible spoilers for those who have not beaten the game.  
  
Rebuilding the Darkness  
A Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Fanfic  
By: Parker Schadegg (Mikhal001Rcomcast.net)  
  
Chapter 1, From the Shadows  
  
        The innards of the Star Forge trembled and groaned as several Republic fighters successfully completed their strafing run against its surface batteries. The massive holographic projection within the domed control center waned as the power coursing to its massive intake systems began to falter. Bastila propped herself against the far wall in the control center. Tendrils of wire hung down from the massive dome like vine. Lights flickered and sparks erupted from consoles and panels; she had failed Malak.  
  
        Bastila cringed as she clutched her side, hoping to kill the pain. Her legs were numb and her breath was ragged. She was too badly injured to react when she heard his footsteps then saw his feet at her saber's hilt. Incapable to raise her head to meet his gaze, she did the only thing that came to mind. She trembled.  
  
        She awaited her doom and, deep down, hoped after all the wrongdoing she had done to him and his friends he wouldn't stay his blade. What he felt for her - at one point - was now irrelevant to her, and a part of Bastila longed for his retribution. That part of her was tainted by the darkside. It was the darkness inside her that scorned the weakness she harbored deep inside and prevented her from calling out to him. It took control of her a long time ago, but she never wanted to admit it. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard as she heard his lightsabers dissolve with a hiss.  
  
        Bastila felt his hands on her side nursing her wound. Darkness danced on the edge of her vision as her pain threatened to take her consciousness. Quickly he tore a piece of his robe and wound it tightly around Bastila's midsection. He then draped her arm around his neck and hoisted her up. Bastila finally let her green eyes find his.  
  
        "If it wasn't for that exploding terminal, I would have had you, Revan." Bastila let a small smirk cross her features.  
  
        Revan let his gaze linger before looking at the scorched terminal that had ended their duel. "Maybe."  
  
        "Why are you doing this?" Bastila cried out softly as Revan snaked his hands around her legs and began to pick her up. He walked up the steps onto the walkway leading to the pressure door. "I've tried to kill you several times, and still you continue to fawn over me." Bastila quickly withdrew her arm as Revan set her down. "You must know I'll try to kill you again if you don't kill me now."  
  
        "I won't kill you, Bastila."  
  
        Bastila scowled at him as he knelt next to her looking at her wound, totally oblivious to the superficial rage that splayed across her surface. "Fool," she muttered. Her pain subdued by anger, she quickly jutted out her hand and summoned her saber to her. With quick reflexes she activated her saber and brought the red-hot blade down on Revan.  
  
        With a loud, sharp crack, Revan's green saber met Bastila's. With a deft move and quick flick Revan disarmed Bastila, again. "I won't do it, no matter how much you coax me."  
  
        Tears stung Bastila's eyes; she was disgusted at her injury, her inability to kill Revan, Revan's total lack of anger... her weakness inside her heart. "The Sith Code demands my death as failure, don't deny me that. Please, Revan, don't let me wallow in this misery and turmoil I feel!" Bastila clutched his arm and threw herself into his chest, weeping.  
  
        "Bastila, you aren't Sith. I won't do it."  
  
        Bastila pulled away from Revan and peered into his eyes. She found an immense depth of compassion and sincerity in them. On some level beyond her physical form she felt his warmth splay itself across her heart. She wanted to go back to him, but she had learned to hate, she was tainted and could never go back. She bit back a sob as she tried to compose herself. "You have to."  
  
        Revan knelt down on both knees and rolled back unto his heels, totally exposing himself to Bastila and a possible attack. "Why?"  
  
        "Because the locking mechanism to the pressure door leading to Malak is tied to me. When I die the door opens, if you die, it doesn't matter." Bastila belied her words as tears brimmed down her face. She wanted to end the pain of being torn and dismayed. She was afraid. She was afraid that he might truly forgive her; that he might truly love her.  
  
        "Then I'll find another door."  
  
        Bastila looked at the flickering holographic projection; "You don't have time."  
  
        "Bastila, I can't."  
  
        "You must!" Bastila's tears slowed and her resolve grew stronger. This wasn't for the Sith, not for the Republic, her death would be for... him. She could feel his strength and his power. And because of her actions, she could feel the conflict within him. She was leading him back to the dark side. Without her to taint his life force through their bond he would become a great Jedi. The council's plan worked, the gambit paid off. For it to succeed, however, she knew she had to die.  
  
        Revan began to visibly fight back his pain, "Don't make me do this."  
  
        "Please, Revan... for me?" She smiled at him, somehow hoping to show him the darkside's sway had no effect on her any longer. To show him that he accomplished what he set out to do, that he freed her. "If you loved me, even a little, do this one thing for me... please?"  
  
        Revan stood sharply and gazed down at her, his face a torrent of emotion. "I need you," he pleaded.  
  
        Bastila serenely shook her head and smiled softly, "No. You don't." She looked at the holographic projection again, "But they need you." She placed her hand on her chest, "And I'm your path to Malak." She hoped he would believe her lie this time. The Jedi looked down upon deception - if used for personal gains - but to Bastila it was a means to the end. Her end. The end that would benefit all involved. She knew that it would be a great end for the ones she loved if she was no longer a factor. She was weak and helpless. She may have skill with a lightsaber, but she helped to nearly destroy the Republic fleet, she was dangerous and had to be dealt with. And she wanted no one else to do it.  
  
        Revan looked at her hard. He slowly dropped his head, "If this is will of the Force, then so be it."  
  
-==-  
  
        "I can sense a great wealth of sorrow within you, Master Revan." Revan brought his senses back from his Force induced reverie. He quickly finished attuning his mind and ended his meditation. Master Vandar stood next to him, his blue robes swayed to the flow of the warm, humid air on Dantooine. "I have done much in my life, Master Vandar, many things I am not proud of. It will take some time for me to find peace in my past."  
  
        Master Vandar circled around Revan, "And your meditation on these matters gives me comfort, but I still have concern." Vandar folded his tiny hands across his midsection as he inhaled slowly. The small creature cast his gaze towards the expansive knoll that lay around and about the meditation grove. "Juhani stole away to this most sacred of places when she was troubled and in doubt. And you gave her peace." Vandar placed his hand on an olden pillar and stared at the intricate designs, "At one time there was great evil here, we can feel it, all of us can. A faceless evil your past life brought gave form too, but your current path sent back to the abyss. But now this land is scarred, the enclave in ruins, and the land hospitable and uncaring." Vandar retracted his hand and looked up at the perverse pregnant orange sky. "The only thing that can be found here is emptiness, Revan." Vandar's heart felt heavy as he inwardly mourned for his lost world; the training ground for many brave, young Jedi for generations. "Your destiny lies elsewhere, and only you can find it. Do not search the grounds of spirits for the answers you seek. They hold nothing but contempt for the living."  
  
        Revan followed Vandar's gaze into the heavens and shared the same pang Vandar felt. Yet, his thoughts held no consideration for the planet or its glorious history. He still mourned for her. "You came all the way from Coruscant to tell me that?"  
  
        Vandar began to walk away, "I see patience is a virtue you still lack."  
  
        Revan smiled half-heartedly, "I prefer to skip the business of platitudes and jump straight to the point."  
  
        Vandar sighed deeply and cast his gaze downward, "You have done great harm to the Republic, Revan. You have also done great good for the Republic. In truth, I believed that our plan for you would ultimately fail... how blind I was." Vandar reached into his pocket and produced a holocron. "This was delivered to our enclave on Coruscant. To you from Bastila's mother." Vandar turned towards Revan and held out the data pad. "Let this be the end of it, Revan. Let Bastila's memory go." Vandar knew all too well the reason for Revan's sorrow. He could feel the massive upset in the flow of universal balance when Revan struck Bastila down. He wept for the Republic at that precise moment, for he could only think of one possible outcome to such disruption, the end of an era that spanned millennia. To his surprise, however, Revan had retained the light. "While your love for her may be pure, Revan, the guilt you hold inside will only lead you down that all too familiar path."  
  
        Vandar gave the holocron to Revan, "I cannot seal that part of myself away so easily. I found comfort in our bond and in her arms." Revan closed his eyes and smiled. Sometimes he felt her near him; felt their bond as if she was in the next room. He often found himself lying in bed thinking of the scant few intimate encounters they shared. He longed for any one or thing to come by with a promise to reunite them and often he would let his mind wander in search of possibilities. He was scared to find himself often coming to the conclusion that in the power of the darkness lay the answer he sought. "I miss her. Without her, I feel lost and confused. I feel as if I failed her, I could have saved her if only I...."  
  
        "I do not agree with your choice to mull over these feelings and memories. You know the dangers of such passionate thoughts. I fear for our future."  
  
        "My future," Revan let his voice raise louder than he should have. Revan closed his eyes and breathed deep and evenly, trying to calm himself. "My past, Master Vandar. I have to conquer the one to create the other."  
  
        "You think of everything in terms of conquer and conquest, Revan. Is it simply a matter of battling demons and throwing them out? Is it as clear as destroying your painful past to create a peaceful future?"  
  
        Revan fixed his gaze on the small, green creature, "If there is a point, Master Vandar, I ask you hurry towards it."  
  
        "To conquer your past, as you say, kills a part of you, and in doing so, leaves you in greater turmoil than before. Doing that will bring you no comfort. You should examine those past events, understand them, come to terms with them. You'll understand how the force played its part, how it works and what it can do; through you and others. It is the only way you can grow, as a person, and as a Jedi. But, nevertheless, one can never find closure while dwelling on things that can never come to pass," Vandar saged.  
  
        Revan looked intently at the holocron in his hands and then nodded, "I will keep in mind what you have said, Master Vandar."  
  
        "If we were to lose you to the dark side again, Revan... we would be lost."  
  
        Revan watched Vandar walk into the distance without saying a word. There was nothing left to say. Vandar gave him much to consider. In his heart he knew Bastila would never want him to suffer as he has these past two years. But he found it impossible to come to terms with what he had done. And not even fate could have accounted for the guilt inside of him for living while so many others he cared about did not.  
  
        Revan absent-mindedly traced the contours of the holocron while he let his mind roam. Had his senses been aware of their surroundings he would have felt something stirring in the wild grass that surrounded him.  
  
        Summoning up the courage to aggravate an already gaping wound, Revan activated the holocron. In the distance he saw a pillar of fire erupt followed by a billowing column of smoke. Revan was thrown to the floor from the shock wave of the explosion. Suddenly Revan felt movement all around him.  
  
        He rolled to his side and sprung upwards, quickly wielding his lightsabers. He felt a darkness loom behind him and quickly cover his back with a carnal force that launched him into the air. Revan landed hard on ashen ground and felt his breath falter. Forcing himself to stand up, he pushed himself up. Revan summoned his dropped sabers back to his hands and turned his attention to his attacker.  
  
        Revan could feel the tides of darkness rippling off his opponent. The dark figure opened its cloak and produced a lightsaber. Its red tint held an air of malice. Something in the way this Sith carried himself made Revan uncomfortable in familiarity.  
  
        "Very ingenious, hiding in plain sight is something not many would have thought of." The filtered voice gave the Sith a metallic resonation that grated on the back of Revan's spine.  
  
        Revan steeled his features, "Who says I'm hiding? I do not fear lowly Sith who lack even the smallest bit of courage to show their face."  
  
        The Sith responded with a grinding chortle, "You hid your face."  
  
        "Because I couldn't stand to look at it," Revan admitted.  
  
        The Sith shrugged his cloak off his shoulders and readied his blade.  
  
Revan licked his lips in nervous anticipation. He felt something stir behind him again, and reacted sluggishly. Pain jolted through Revan's lower back as a tazer was driven into him. His legs buckled and his hands clenched tightly. Two Mandalorian warriors decloaked next to him. They grabbed his shoulders and held him down.  
  
        Revan felt as if every sinew in his body was on fire. His arms and legs refused to work and his eyes and head pulsed with agony. He heard the Sith's voice echoing in his mind, telling the Mandalorians to restrain his hands and disarm him. He saw the dark figure looming over him. His words barely registered in his head, "You should remember this device, Revan." The Sith held a circular object with a series of slender tendril attachments wound into the surface. He quickly attached the unit to Revan's right arm. Revan felt piercing pain rip through his wrist as metallic teeth planted the bracelet to his wrist bones. His breath was sucked from his lungs as, what felt like, liquid fire coursed through his veins as the tiny tendrils snaked their way into his arm and into his chest using his veins as thorough-fairs. The Sith grabbed Revan's hair and pulled his face closer. "This little beauty prohibits the use of force powers... unless of course they're used under extreme duress." Dazed as Revan was, he understood what that meant.  
  
        "I won't let my emotions sway me," Revan spat.  
  
        The Sith chuckled, "Oh, dear hero, you already have. Any calm Jedi would have felt our approach and had been prepared. And now the more you resist the lure of the darkside the more your anger will grow, you'll hate yourself for being so weak and finally you'll come back to us." The Sith let go of Revan and put his face next to Revan's ear to whisper, "I will break you."  
  
        Revan peered into the mechanical face of his enemy and felt rage, he had long forgotten, swell within him. He quickly recalled his Jedi training and tried to calm his senses in a vain attempt to stay serene. Before he could fully calm his senses, he convulsed violently as two tazers stung him on both sides of his chest. Fiery blackness crept across his red vision. With a painful cry of agony Revan slumped into unconsciousness.  
  
        The Sith folded his arms in front of his chest and admired his work.  
  
        "What do we do with him now, Lord Rucal?" the Mandalorian officer asked.  
  
        The Dark Jedi summoned his blood-red cloak to his shoulders and secured the cords around his armour, "Leave him. The Republic will come looking for their lost Jedi envoy soon." Rucal fixed his gaze on the crimson colored Mandalorian, "And I don't intend to be here."  
  
        "Of course, Lord Rucal."  
  
-==-  
  
        "What was that?" The blue twi'lek girl threw the steel container back into its cradle embedded on the ship's cargo bay. She became more agitated with each time she asked. Because she knew the answer she was going to get.  
  
        "Mission, I don't know, okay?" Ransu Coriboni, Captain of the mercenary ship Gryphon, bent at the waist and, with some great strife, lifted the massive container of foodstuffs, then slid it back onto the appropriate shelf. Clutching the small of his back, he stretched. "They could have warned us first though."  
  
        Mission quickly stuffed several strewn items she had picked up back into the metal containers that had snapped open, "I knew they were bad news the minute I saw them."  
  
        Ransu shook his head and grunted playfully, "I'm never going to hear the end of this am I?"  
  
        Mission looked at Ransu incredulously, "This isn't a joke!"  
  
        Ransu rolled his eyes, he loved her friendship dearly, but he hated it when she'd go off on her tirades; and he could feel one brewing. "Mission, c'mon, you knew as well as I did the Sith aren't upstanding citizens. They've been reeling from the defeat the Republic handed them over two years ago." Ransu frowned dispassionately as Mission sighed forcefully and began to shove equipment and foodstuffs into random containers with more force than required. "They paid us well. And we're getting the other half when we return to Coruscant."  
  
        "I can't believe you're so... so... unaffected by this! They just set off a bomb where that Republic ship set down! One big enough to break two of our landing struts!"  
  
        Ransu shrugged, "Death happens in war." He grinned inwardly as he knew that would set her off.  
  
        "War?! War?! News flash, Captains Courageous, the war is over!" Mission dropped everything in her hands, causing quite a loud clatter. "That," Mission pointed in the direction of the blast, "was out and out murder."  
  
        Ransu leaned up against the cargo hold's wall and crossed his arms, "Captains Courageous?"  
  
        Mission's sail lost all its wind with Ransu's lack of seriousness. "Figure of speech," Mission mumbled.  
  
        "Sure," Ransu's less-than-believing tone irked Mission.  
  
        Mission put her hands on her hips and nodded, "You don't take anything seriously, do you?"  
  
        Both jumped sharply as Rucal and his Mandalorian group tromped up the loading ramp. "Captain!" Rucal's voice filter growled. "Set course for Coruscant, best possible speeds."  
  
        Ransu met the cloaked figure in the adjoining corridor, "Hang on a minute, Rucal."  
  
        Rucal spun quickly, his patience worn like a thin veil ready to rip, "What is it, mercenary?"  
  
        "That little fireworks display fried some of the computer network and snapped a few support struts, I require compensation for damages."  
  
        Rucal stepped closer to Ransu, leveling his glowing red gaze, "You'll be more than handsomely rewarded for your efforts upon our return."  
  
        "I understand that, but that was for passage. I've got to cover my repairs too." Ransu straightened his posture, he knew Rucal's type and had dealt with them for years, but in truth he'd be lying if he said he wasn't scared to be staring down a dark Jedi.  
  
        Rucal squared his shoulders to Ransu's, his ire building with each heartbeat, "Do not try my patience, Captain, I could rip those all important launch codes from your fragile mind before I liquefied it."  
  
        Summoning all the courage he could muster, Ransu took two loud, bold steps and brought the two face to face. "Try it," Ransu felt his ears burning and heard his heart beat. He had never really called a bluff on such a level, but a part of him felt like Mission. A part of him regretted taking them on as clients, lack of money or no.  
  
        Rucal studied Ransu for a moment. He saw the underlining fear in Ransu's eyes, masked as well as it was, and admitted that he had impressed him. He brought his hand up, calming his Mandalorians. "All right, Captain, twenty thousand extra, is that sufficient?"  
  
        "Yes."  
  
        "Take me to Coruscant, now." Rucal added a bit of demand to ensure his supremacy to all involved.  
  
        Both Mission and Ransu watched the group of assassins trek down the corridor to the recreation room. "You've lost your damn mind."  
  
        Ransu looked at Mission, his gaze agreed with her, but his smile said otherwise. "Does it matter? Let's get home."  
  
        Mission shot a disdainful glance down the corridor, "The sooner the better."  
  
END – Chapter 1  
  
Authors Notes: I'm still looking for Pre-readers if anyone is interested. Thanks for reading this, and I hope you'll come back for the other parts.  
  
On the subject of the continuation, I'm working with the possible Male Revan ending where he kills Bastila. Why? Because it's different, provides a wealth of possibilities in and of itself, and well... if Revan is supposed to be some kind of paragon of light (if you play lightside) he did little to prove it. He didn't revert back to the darkside, of course, but at the same time, that's what the council set out to do, I'd like to play with the notion the inner turmoil and emotional pain that their decision cost.  
  
I'll be working on chapter 2 in a couple of days as I hammer out the final outline and what have you. In the meantime, please feel free to C&C publicly and privately.  
  
Thanks for reading.  
  
Parker – 27JAN04 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The characters of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic are owned by LucasArts & BioWare. No copyright infringement is intended or should be perceived.  
  
Rebuilding the Darkness A Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Fanfic By: Parker Schadegg (Mikhal001Rcomcast.net)  
  
Chapter 2, Into the Gambit  
  
Ransu Coriboni sat in his chair on the control deck of the Gryphon. The stars streaked past the windows with an unsettling calm, considering the liquefying speeds the dampening field masked. He absent-mindedly toyed with a gold and silver inlaid medallion that hung around his neck. Lost somewhere in the reverie of his younger days, he failed to hear Mission clamber through the pressure doors and into her chair flanking his.  
  
"Hey," Mission pawed at his arm, "...we there yet?"  
  
Ransu stopped toying with his family heirloom and looked at Mission, "Mission, don't you have anything... better to do?"  
  
Keeping in theme with her cat-like posture, she grinned, "Not really, no."  
  
Ransu straightened himself while looking over his shoulder, uncomfortable with the silence for the past few hours on the ship. On the start of the journey the Mandalorians had been slathering Mission in admissions of infatuation, but going home they scarcely left their compartments. "Any signs of our guests?" Ransu checked the coordinates in the nav computer again, his unrest increasing.  
  
"No." Mission's tone didn't bring Ransu any comfort. Not that she enjoyed their lecherous advances, but she enjoyed the comfort in the knowledge that they were too engorged with their own passions to be secretive. Both knew they were obviously planning something. Whatever it was, they also knew it had something to do with their visit to the destroyed Jedi enclave and the explosion. "When are we due in to Coruscant?"  
  
Ransu hunched over the nav computer and ordered up the timer by the button press, "Six hours."  
  
Mission swiveled her chair to gaze down the corridor leading out of the control deck, "And not a minute too soon."  
  
-==-  
  
I will break you.  
  
Revan's head reeled with an ache that had no source and no purpose. It was like being ripped from the warmth and thrust, naked, into the cold, chilling arctic air of Hoth. He felt a hand on his shoulder but lacked the energy to react. He felt something wrong with the world, something obvious, yet something he couldn't place. Again he tensed with a jolt of pain and his eyes slowly opened. His ache subsided as he locked eyes with a nurse dressed in Republic medical garb. The blinding white of the medical bay he was in caused him to squint. He lifted a hand to shield his eyes and tried to sense his surroundings. He suddenly found out where his constant ache was coming from as he was jolted with another bolt of pain. Revan looked at the bracelet that snaked its steely tendrils into his arm and placed the sensation of emptiness. He couldn't feel his surroundings at all; he had absolutely no Jedi powers at all. Not that he lacked control of them, but he felt empty, devoid of that intimate contact his powers had always brought him. For a brief second he felt as if he would die if he didn't feel connected to everything in the room.  
  
"Master Jedi, can you hear me?"  
  
Revan fixed his gaze on the medical examiner again, "W-where am I?" He had difficulty in finding his voice. It felt rough and course like sand had been poured down his throat.  
  
"You're on the Imperial Star, orbiting Dantooine." She toweled Revan's head and felt his face, her hands moving with a professional grace. "We found you like this, you've been in a coma-like state for nearly thirteen hours."  
  
"What happened to Master Vandar?"  
  
The nurse smiled briefly and then averted her gaze to check his vitals, "You need to rest, Admiral Dodonna will have questions for you later, I'm sure."  
  
Revan felt his heart skip at her avoidance, normally he could feel her. Most of the time he would know the answer to a question like that before the answer by feeling their flow of emotions, but he couldn't feel anything at all. Panic and fear started to rise into his throat, and for a brief instant he could feel his connection returning to him. Like a thunder crack Rucal's voice pierced his mind.  
  
Unless of course they're used under extreme duress.  
  
Revan felt an immense swell of fright fill his stomach. He breathed deeply and closed his eyes; "I will not let my emotions sway me." He silently began to recite the Jedi creed to help calm his fears, but he found it impossible as the more he calmed himself the weaker his connection grew. He clutched the bracelet tightly and fought his fears with all force of will he that could find.  
  
"Master Jedi?" The medical officer stood aback by his quiet, trance- like mantra. Seeing that her words failed to reach him, she reached for the emergency button. Revan grabbed her arm and pierced her eyes with his stare.  
  
"Master Vandar, I must know, what happened to him?"  
  
The red haired nurse let her shock hang on her face; "He died in the fire-blast. I'm sorry, Master Jedi, there was nothing we could do for him."  
  
Revan felt cold as her words sunk in. Revan released her from his grip and then closed his eyes, "Please leave me. I must meditate on this."  
  
The nurse quickly left the room; the pressure doors hissing shut behind her and the lights dimming. Revan's mind was a sea of turmoil, and he could feel his anger growing in the back of his soul, taking root in the tiniest part it could find. He had a feeling that the cold demeanor he used with the nurse would be the prelude to the most trying tests of his character to come.  
  
-==-  
  
Having had little difficulty with reentry, the Gryphon glided through Courscant's upper atmosphere with an eagle's grace. Inside the control room, Ransu worked intensely, checking the ship's systems and manually flying the ship. Mission sat next to him, checking in with various Republic agencies, attempting to secure a landing platform. Which, had become almost impossible. Security was in an almost panicked state and having just emerged from lightspeed, she had no idea why.  
  
The pressure doors hissed open as a Mandalorian, clad in his highly polished battle-suit marched in, a datapad in his hand. His helmet speakers crackled as he handed the pad to Ransu and told them there had been a change in plans.  
  
"That isn't what we agreed upon," Ransu looked up from his controls, his anger diluted in expressions of annoyance.  
  
"Lord Rucal is changing the contract," the Mandalorian thrust the data pad closer to Ransu's face. "He also said that if you don't like it, we can always turn you over to the Republic. I'm sure they'd love to get their hands on such an infamous space pirate and terrorist."  
  
Ransu scowled, "What are you talking about?"  
  
The Mandalorian smirked under his helmet, "Our little excursion to Dantooine killed a Jedi Master and several Republic Officers. Do what we say and you'll be rewarded, refuse," the Mandalorian let his words hang in the air as he dropped the pad. It clattered to the ground causing Mission to reactively pick it up. Ransu never let his eyes drift from the Mandalorian.  
  
"This deal is getting worse by the second."  
  
Mission glanced over the data pad. "You have no idea."  
  
-==-  
  
Revan stirred from his bed, a fine sheen of sweat covered his face. He heaved deep breaths as he tried to bring order to the chaos caused by his dream. Having drifted back to sleep shortly after waking, he had found his dreams to be less favorable than reality. Visions of death, screams of agony, and a torrent of pain, that swirled around Bastila's battered and broken visage, plagued his sleep of late and his current setting was cause for no exception.  
  
Revan tried to stand, but found his feet to be sluggish. His head roared with pain and his violated arm burned with agony. Slowly Revan shambled over to the window. He could see the yellowed perverted sky of Dantooine and scared countryside below that. He noticed fighter craft patrolling the stars, yet felt no urgency from the pilots or anything else around him. He glanced at his wrist and knew why. He wanted so badly to claw the damnable contraption from his wrist and arm, but knew the tendrils were more than horrific aesthetics. Any attempt to disarm the force inhibitor and the tendrils would inject his heart with enough acidic poison to kill a rancor. The perverse attachment was permanent.  
  
The doors to his room hissed open and from the blinding white of the medical wing outside his room, Admiral Dodonna stepped in. From the reflection cast by the blinding fluorescence, Revan knew Republic soldiers flanked his door on either side.  
  
"Ah, good. You're awake." Dodonna studied Revan's face in the soft blue glow of the light above his medical bed. Revan, in turn, returned her studying gaze with his own. Yet, without his intimate connection to things around him, he knew he utterly lacked any type of understanding of nuances. All he could see was a middle-aged officer looming in the backdrop of his room who was, for all intents and purposes, glaring at him.  
  
Revan made an effort towards his bed and slowly sat down. "Why am I being guarded?" A question he would have normally known the answer to.  
  
"Security concerns." Dodonna's response was abrupt and vague for almost tangible reasons given the history between the two. Revan smirked.  
  
"Your's or mine?"  
  
Dodonna walked briskly to the other side of the bed and looked hard at Revan. "I'll admit I'm still not entirely sure I trust you. Your betrayal is unforgivable. Yet, Master Vandar was always quick to point out that you also have done much good, too. For the time being, let us agree that it is for both our sake's."  
  
Revan held up his bonded arm. "I'm too physically hurt to be much of a fighter, and I have completely lost my control of the force."  
  
"So I've heard." Dodonna studied the metallic object with minimal interest. "A rather bawdy device." Revan withdrew his arm and sat rigidly, ignoring the pain that shot up his spine with each breath.  
  
"I don't think this is a social call, Admiral, what do you want?"  
  
"Throughout the core worlds, multiple, coordinated, attacks were launched at the precise moment your attack occurred. We don't know if what happened here was the trigger or a secondary objective, but we know for certain it involves you." Dodonna stood next to the massive picture window.  
  
"Are you implying I had something to do with... what happened?"  
  
Dodonna shot Revan a sharp look out of the corner of her eye, "Should I?"  
  
Revan could feel his ire building. He had let this woman constantly make light of the sacrifices he had made during his redemption and had tried to bear the brunt of her incessant insults with the sincerity of a true jedi, but her doubt was wearing him thin. But, like a consummate Jedi, he managed to chide his anger and calm himself. "And how do you know I'm at the heart of the matter?"  
  
"Because out of all the attacks involving Jedi, you are the only one to survive," Dodonna stated matter-of-factly.  
  
Revan reeled at the implication that other Jedi had been targeted in similar fashions across the core worlds. "How many attacks were there?"  
  
Dodonna sighed a heavy sigh, "At current count over three hundred. Some involved capital ships, shipyards, fighters, orbital defenses, and even Jedi. To make matters worse, many of the attacks were carried out by Mandalorian clans. The entire Mandalorian Integration project has unraveled at the seams. Just this past hour Republic Commando's stormed into the Senate and neutralized a group of Mandalorian raiders that had taken several ambassadors from Sluis Vain hostage. They were there to negotiate trading rights with the newly joined Selkath. There were no demands and seemingly no other purpose than abstract terror. The entire Republic is in a state of panic."  
  
"How does this involve me, Admiral?"  
  
"Mission Vao." Dodonna presented a circular holo-pad. The image fluttered to life and showed Mission accompanied by Ransu Coriboni. "Recent intelligence suggests she and a few yet-to-be-named conspirators are responsible for the massive organization."  
  
Revan shook his head with what little assurance his condition would allow, "That is simply ludicrous, Admiral, I know Mission, besides that picture doesn't prove a damn thing!" Revan waved at the image with a dismissive gesture. "She's working for the Republic, special operations."  
  
"Was," Dodonna corrected, "she was working for us. Three months ago she stopped transmitting and disappeared. We thought she was dead, but this reconnaissance image was taken two weeks ago. She's gone rogue, Revan, and you're connected to this."  
  
"She could have gone too deep to keep transmitting."  
  
Dodonna shut the image recorder off, "Not likely, Revan. If she is, I've never, in my entire career, heard of any agent going that deep."  
  
"Even if I am connected to this, how can I do anything about it in my present condition?"  
  
Dodonna smirked with pride, "You were reprogrammed as a soldier before you reclaimed your lost powers, you'll find a way. It was my suggestion after all." Revan would have stared at her with utter contempt if she hadn't have had a semi-logical point.  
  
Before she could follow her statement up with vital information for his mission, Dodonna found herself sprawled across the floor. The ship shook violently, as laser fire peppered her ship's shielding. Both Revan and Dodonna held on to whatever was bolted down as the ship shuddered again as a volley of torpedo fire ripped through the shielding and eviscerated the mid-section of the ship. Emergency lighting changed the dominant color scheme of the room to crimson as emergency klaxons flared to life. The main PA system began to drone orders for combat readiness, while the different sectors across the ship barked their own unique orders.  
  
Both Revan and Dodonna found themselves floating listlessly as the gravity systems across the ship failed. Dodonna quickly hovered towards the window as laser fire streaked past. The outside scene was abuzz with frantic activity as the pickets and early sentry squadrons engaged several wings of Sith Star fighter's. Dodonna cursed under her breath as she saw two Sith capital ships in the distance. "It's the Sith!" She stole a second glance out the window. She assessed their battle strength with a glimpse and could easily recognize the two warships, but something ominous hung between the two Sith ships.  
  
Revan propelled himself next to her, "What are the Sith Remnant doing out here?"  
  
Dodonna paid his question no mind as she scrambled, as best she could in zero gravity, toward the door. "I've got to get to the bridge!" Finding the doors to be inoperable, she entered her security override code into the keypad next to the door and a small panel appeared out of the gray titanium wall. A lever appeared and with a couple pulls downward the door began to slowly open.  
  
To her dismay the medical wing had been severely damaged. One of the sentries stationed outside of Revan's quarters was dead and the other badly wounded. His blood morphed and dance in a weightless ritual in the absence of gravity. His fading dimming eyes pleaded with Dodonna as she passed him by, but she could do nothing for him. She had to go to her bridge. Yet, as she reached the wing's doors, leading to the walkway that would take her, by lift, to the bridge, she realized the corridor had depressurized. Titanium walls buckled under the weight of the deck above. The glass on terminals floated through the air like tiny stars, and mangled bodies, horribly maimed from the lack of atmosphere, danced in macabre fashion as they touched up against the buckled walls or each other.  
  
Dodonna was stuck.  
  
-==-  
  
Another volley of Ion Scattering Torpedo's exploded on impacting the surface of the Republic ship. Her shields flickered for a moment and then with a bright, instantaneous flash, they failed. The Imperial Star, Dodonna's ship for over a year and a half, had sustained heavy damage across its hull. Breaches in its titanium alloy carved themselves across the hull like small gullies, venting precious atmosphere on the afflicted decks. The three Sith ships encroached on its wounded prey as the Imperial Star began to list to port.  
  
Inside the control deck of the Imperial Star, Commander Valen Odimar held onto the back of his chair, attempting to anchor himself. His thick wavy hair was mussed from sweat and blood, some even running into his eyes. But without Dodonna on the bridge he had no time to worry about how badly he might have been injured.  
  
"Where is our fighter screen," Valen barked as he examined holo- projections of the battle ensuing around the ship. He growled as fighter after fighter was obliterated. Volleys of laser fire ripped through the blackness of space, mercilessly seeking their targets and yielding a hefty explosion if hits were scored. The Sith had used a text book example of a pincer attack, even as simple as it seemed, they had executed it marvelously. Valen scanned over the failing defensive perimeters, as Republic fighters could do nothing to tide off the two-pronged offensive. "Give me a status report!"  
  
"Green and Gold groups have been routed from their defensive screens, sir! Red group has been destroyed. We're wide open!"  
  
-==-  
  
Klaxons sounded collision alarms as several Sith Breach Pods drilled into the side of the listing Imperial Star. Their drill tipped nose cones quickly chewed the titanium skin and steel innards of the ship's primary and secondary hulls, breaching completely into the ship. The cones then disconnected from the ship and ramps punched into walls and floors alike. Quickly, heavily armored Sith Troopers boarded. They fired their Heavy Repeating rifles at helpless crewmembers tearing their bodies apart all the while their magnetic boots clanked upon metal flooring as they marched through the fractured corridors of their landing zones.  
  
-==-  
  
"Breach Pods on decks seven, twelve, and fifteen. We have several more pods in bound." A young freckle-faced ensign reported from her station on the bridge. Her monitor a frenzy of information as the ship constantly updated her holo-imaging screen with damage reports, casualties and repair progress.  
  
Valen pulled himself along chair back after chair back receiving current situation reports from all stations, "Order security teams to engage on sight, prep them for zero-g combat. And reprioritize the defense systems, I want those damn pods out of my fly zone!"  
  
"Sir, one of the Sith capitals is moving into position to engage!" Valen launched himself off the chair back of the young ensign and headed towards his tactical officer's station near the edge of the bridge surrounded by the holo-map showcasing the battle. "It's approaching to port, she's going to flay us open!" Valen hovered next to his lieutenant and placed a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Calm down, lieutenant. Order port guns to prepare for heavy barrage, full yield. We're not done yet. But, without our shields we'll have to bite first and bite hardest." His voice resounded with confidence, yet his bloodied face countered his solid voice. His lieutenant looked up at him attempting to proffer some kind of protest, but opted not to.  
  
"A-aye, sir."  
  
Valen pulled himself along the station towards his communication officer who was no more than a young pup fresh from the academy. His face a mask of fright and despair as Valen pulled himself by. "Anything?"  
  
The young man stammered, "N-n-not y-yet, sir." The ship groaned as an explosion rocked the underbelly, but without the presence of gravity the crew could barely tell. Valen cursed under his breath. He looked across the bridge of his ship. His crew was dutifully carrying on, but he knew in about less than a minute that Sith ship would open them up and possibly rend the entire ship incapable of combat. He had hoped somewhere in this system or neighboring systems combat ships of some kind would be able to aid, but they were very far from standard shipping lanes. "Sir!" A message scrolled across the holo-imager at Valen's current location. His communications officer read it aloud with zeal. "The Golden Ember has dropped out of lightspeed and is answering our call, sir!" Valen sighed with relief. His prayers had been answered. A Republic Carrier is exactly what he had been hoping for.  
  
"Location Golden Ember," Valen pushed himself off communications panel.  
  
"One hundred thousand kilometers and closing rapidly."  
  
Valen looked towards the port side and saw the Sith crusier very close to firing range. "Time to Sith firing range?"  
  
The young freckled-face Ensign manipulated her console with a flurry of movement. "They're almost on top of us."  
  
Valen gripped his chair's headrest tightly. "This is going to be close."  
  
The Golden Ember's fighter bays were opened and hundreds of fighters began pouring out, their tiny blips on the holo-imager swarmed out from their carrier's position and flew into the frenzy. With their fighter screen being bolstered, Valen turned his focus on the approaching cruiser.  
  
"On my mark, open fire!" Valen licked his lips nervously, and couldn't help but wonder if the captain on the Sith cruiser was feeling the same anxiety. His contempt for the Sith reminded him that these were not human beings, but demons dressed in flesh suits. If they had anything in common it would be the fact that they both would fight to the last. The Sith ship began to pass alongside the Imperial Star. "Fire!"  
  
Green turbo laser fire bombarded the Sith cruiser. The fire was heavily concentrated and for some reason the Sith was caught unprepared. Their shields flickered as parts of their shielding failed, allowing direct hits carving large chunks out of their hull. Tendrils of steel lashed out from the Sith ship as grappling hooks delved into the wounds of the Imperial Star, anchoring her to the Sith cruiser. Slowly, the Sith ship began to winch the Imperial Star along side. Valen now understood that they were trying to take the ship rather than destroy it.  
  
"Engines to starboard, full power! Pull us away!" Valen yelled with all the force he could muster. "Intensify port batteries, focus on those winch lines!" Valen pushed himself over to the port window to look at the heavy bombardment. He could see star fighters making strafing runs on the Sith cruiser, their heavy payload of ion bombs and high energy yield rounds scoring hits through the shielding, but the winches remained intact pulling them closer. And if they the Sith could get close enough to use their Breaching Docks there would be no escape.  
  
The Republic Carrier wedged itself between the Imperial Star and the other Sith capital ships. The one in the middle, the most notably largest of the three finally lurched forward. It's spidery wings curled around its body as it moved. The black hull shimmered in the reflecting light of explosions and nearby suns. The jagged profile made it stick out from the backdrop of stars, but it still remained almost impossible to see with the naked eye. The under belly of warship the began to glow an eerie purple as energy pooled and collected, being driven there by it's spidery legs. Slowly the wings began to extend and purple lightning danced up and down the wings like worms winding their way around a pole.  
  
The darkness erupted into a blinding plethora of colors as the Sith warship let fly a hell torrent of pure energy. Aimed directly at the Golden Ember. It snaked its way through space, destroying any star fighter in its wake – Sith or Republic alike. It scored a direct hit upon the Republic Carrier. The shields flickered to life and held the torrent at bay for a scant few seconds before collapsing. The energy beam ripped through the ship, spilt the entire craft in two, and created a massive explosion that threw all nearby ships into a dizzying spin from the after shock.  
  
Valen landed hard against the wall, slamming his already aggravated head. He pushed himself off the wall as the automated thrusters began to pull the ship out of the misguided spin. He could see the Sith winches were broken and they were farther apart from each other, but the Sith were still there. Valen held his head as tried to right himself, "Report!"  
  
The young ensign didn't respond. Valen focused his eyes and saw her arms floating limply in zero gravity – her body still fastened into her seat - her blood floating upwards, mixing with other, larger droplets.  
  
"We have no response from system control, sir. That blast knocked everything out. We're dead in space." Valen heard his sinewy tactician's report and felt as if he would vomit. He looked out into space and could hardly see any fighter combat at all. There was hardly any space craft left intact after an attack like that. Valen held his head as it began to thump fiercely.  
  
"Abandon ship." Valen took his hand away and looked at the crimson coating on it. He felt the sting of copper in his mouth and realized he was probably bleeding internally, and probably had been for a while now.  
  
His tactical lieutenant looked up at him from his console. The emergency power had provided a minimal interface, but nothing elaborate enough to perform anything other than diagnostics. "We can't. There's no power in the launching mechanisms for the escape pods."  
  
Valen titled his head back and sighed, "I will not let them have this ship. Is the Final Solution still online?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Computer," Valen's voice was steady and authoritative. His pain had overtaken most of his senses so it was best there was no gravity because he wouldn't have been able to stand, but somehow he found the courage to speak boldly. "Emergency command authorization, Odimar-Two-Two-One-Zeta, enable."  
  
The computer's voice responded in broken static and unmodulated frequencies due to the massive damage across the entire computer network. "Unable to comply, Commander Odimar, Emergency clearance for total command access available only in the event of disablement or death of ship's captain. Admiral Dodonna is on board and cognitive."  
  
"Commander!"  
  
Valen could no longer see well. His head wound had blinded him in his right eye, and his left was covered in blood. He knew something was wrong. He could hear his lieutenant's urgency, but was suddenly left with no resolve to speak. The last thing he saw was an eerie reddish tint envelope the bridge right before turbo laser fire incinerated the entire bridge crew and the bridge exploded outward into space.  
  
-==-  
  
Dodonna held unto a broken pipe, keeping herself from spiraling into the wall behind her. Explosions continued to rock the innards of the Imperial Star as Heavy Sith troopers continued to place charges and engage Republic security forces across the ship. Revan was right behind her pulling himself along the fractured walls. Dodonna attempted to pry open the doors to the Escape hatchways, but the servos in the pulling mechanisms had fused, melting to the door to the railing, forming a permanent seal. Revan ignited his saber, having gathered his gear from medical before the duo trekked into the ship, and carved into the titanium door with piping hot energy. The area around the cut began to buckle and expand from the centralized heat, and eventually Revan had carved a passable whole through the doors.  
  
"That's handy," Dodonna whimsically mused as she passed into the escape hatchways. She angled herself and began feverishly working on a terminal, prepping the pod for launch. "These systems are pretty banged up, but I think I can get them to work." Her optimism was proffered to be more talk than fact as sparks erupted from fractures in the wall and the power flickered, causing the fluorescence to blink rapidly. "I hope."  
  
Docking clamps reared down from the ceiling and clasped a pod into position as the hatchway door opened allowing the two to enter. "That's handy," Revan smirked.  
  
"We've got little time, Revan, hurry."  
  
Revan made his way for the hatchway door, "What about the crew?"  
  
Dodonna shook her head. With Sith shock troops sprawling across the ship and the massive grid failure in the power system there would be no hope for anyone else. "There's nothing we can do."  
  
Another explosion ripped through the ship, causing the hatchway corridor to groan in protest, steel support struts buckled causing the deck above to fall half way down, launching shards of steel into the room with tremendous force. Revan quickly tucked into the escape pod. He turned around expecting to see Dodonna behind him, but a spire of steel had ripped through her clavicle, biting deeply into her chest and piercing her heart. Massive gouts of blood spiraled up from her lifeless body as she drifted listlessly across the corridor.  
  
Revan's features steeled as he reached out and tapped the door button. With an audible hiss the door came down like a hammer fall and depressurized the seal between the hatchway and the pod. The pod's engines thrummed to life and catapulted itself into space, heading toward the hostile surface of Dantoonie. Revan peered out into space and watched the Sith cruisers closing on the Imperial Star. He silently vowed to himself that this would be the last time he ever rode to a planetary surface like this.  
  
-==-  
  
Mission bit back a yelp as tears slid down her cheeks. A Mandalorian warrior stood on the backs of her knees while he brutishly gripped her head- tails, pulling her head up.  
  
Ransu was being held up against the hull of his ship by two of Rucal's troopers who were waiting for them when they arrived at their new destination, a forgotten piece of industrial steel works on Courscant. Ransu growled out a curse in his native tongue toward Rucal as the cloaked figure stepped between him and Mission.  
  
"Oh, don't hate me, Captain. You've only yourself to blame, for accepting a job from, how was it put?" Rucal peered into Missions face, his mask unchanging, hiding a degree of his sarcasm, "Creepy Sith toadies?" Rucal chuckled as Mission's face darkened. She struggled against her captor, causing him to pull her head-tail. Her incoherent scream elicited a small chortling laughter from Rucal.  
  
"You bastard! Let her go!"  
  
Rucal turned slowly, like a snake slithering around its prey. "I will when you run an errand for me."  
  
"There's no way I'd work for a mynock like you!" Ransu flinched as a third trooper jammed the stock of his rifle into his stomach.  
  
"You'll go, or you'll watch as I torture your pretty traveling companion to death." Rucal let his last words roll slowly off his tongue as he watched Mission's face. Her mask of fanciful pride did little to hide the utter terror in her eyes at the prospect. Rucal withdrew a ceramic vibro dagger from a sheath at his belt. He examined the finely craft blade and watched Mission's face warp as within the blade's surface as he moved it about. "Shall I start now?"  
  
Ransu kicked his feet, thinking of anything to turn Rucal's attention away from Mission. "I'll go! I'll go, damn you." Rucal returned the blade and walked up to the suspended mercenary captain.  
  
Rucal produced a double-edged lightsaber and tucked it within Ransu's belt. "Go back to Dantoonie, look for an ejected Republic pod on the surface. Give Master Revan my regards and this gift. Deliver him to the Council here on Courscant and then you can collect your precious pet and be on your way."  
  
Ransu glared at the masked titan. "I have your word?"  
  
Rucal chuckled, "My word's no good, but I find you amusing." Rucal grabbed Ransu's shirt and pulled him closer, his red eye narrowing allowing the cameras inside the mask to focus clearer, "Cherish that." Rucal straighten himself and backed away. Giving his troopers a nod, they let Ransu go and he fell to his knees. Rucal closed the cloak around his body and began to walk way, signaling his Mandalorian to bring Mission with a snap of his hand. Mission yelled after Ransu trying to fight off the Mandalorian dragging her behind him.  
  
Ransu snarled at the troopers around him as they stood by, while Rucal exited. "I'll be back, you can count on that." The blaster rifle leveled at his face suggested that his welcome had worn thin. He trotted up the landing ramp while keeping a watch on the Sith cronies at the foot of the ramp. He punched the retract button as hard as he could and soaked in all he could remember of the three troopers below. He would be back, and he would make especially certain those three knew that.  
  
END – Chapter 2  
  
Author's Notes: I'm still looking for pre-readers if anyone is interested. I lost my contact information for the ones I had, because well, I'm disorganized.  
  
Sorry for the long delays between chapter updates. I wasn't really expecting this project to go anywhere, and well it did. Thanks to everyone who wrote me urging me on to write this. So, I've worked on this while I inched my way through school, but now that I'm out, I should work on it more frequently as I have a good idea of where I'm going and what these new characters are going to be all about.  
  
The inspiration for the space battle scene kind of came from Dune: The Buttlerian Jihad. I don't really know too much technical information when it comes to Star Wars, so I tried to improvise, so for the purist out there, sorry for mixing the tank a lil'. I hope you readers liked reading about the breach pods, because, well for some reason, I think they totally kick ass. I don't really think this is sanctioned Sith technology, but I thought it'd be fun.  
  
Thanks all for reading, and the next part shouldn't be as long in coming. Thanks for hanging tough everyone.  
  
Thanks to Taiteki Kagato for pre-reading.  
  
Parker – 22MAY04 


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